The Gamification of Citizens' Participation in Policymaking

ISBN-13: 9783319785707 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 140 str.

Kai Masser; Linda Mory

Opis

This book examines the use of game elements to encourage citizens to participate in political decision-making and the planning of large-scale public sector projects. It argues that success is based on a personal concern with the project and a belief in the influence on political decision making, but also on fun.

Spis treści

Introduction

Chapter 1: Gamification – Engaging People by Letting Them have Fun

Gamification in the Indication of Democratization and Humanization of the World of Employment

The Development of Games and Playing in General in Private Sector Companies: Basic Features of Games, Game Elements and Player Types

Creating a Playful Environment in Private Sector Companies

Playing Games with the Customers in Private Sector Companies

Playing Games within the Organization

Chapter 2: Citizens’ Participation – Theory and Practice: Confronting the Theory with some Stories about Citizens’ Participation

Redistribution of Power, Deliberation and Workability

Arnsteins’s Ladder of Citizens’ Participation – Remastered (German Version 2018)

The Story of the “Blue Lagoon” and the Problem of “Tokenism”

“Do More of the Same”: Politicians and Planners put their Faith in “Tokenism”

The “Story of the Expertise of Citizens”: Deliberation works better without the People

The Story of “The People in the Sun” vs. “The People in the Shade” and the Problem of “Traditional” Planning and Participation

Chapter 3: Behind the Scenes: What empirical Evidence is Telling us about the Practice of Citizens’ Participation

The Participation Dilemma (in Germany): The more Possibilities there are, the more the People Demand and Stay Absent

Deliberative Methods Need much Time and Effort and are Unpopular

People Distrust Politics and Like to keep an Eye on it

Crisis of Representative Democracy: Citizens’ Participation as the wrong Medication for a Phantom Pain?

Equality and Fairness: Only Elections and Referendums Score Well

Chapter 4: Citizens’ Participation – How Gamification can help Citizens’ Participation to Flourish

Porto Alegre and the High Hopes for a new Democracy (“Old Wine in New Bottles”?)

A brief history of Participative Budgeting in German

Gamification in the Planning of Big Infrastructure Projects: Workability through Visualization and Systemic Consensus

Chapter 5: Lessons Learned: An Author’s Digest

Playing (Games): An Enduring Success Story

Workability: What Makes a Game Successful?

Citizens’ Participation as the Reinvention of Democracy: “Who is Going to Rescue the Rescuer?”

Citizens’ Participation: How to Bridge the Abyss Between Ideal and Reality

Two Success Stories about Citizens’ Participation: Gamification is More than Adding a Clown to a Citizens’ Jury

Bibliography

Index

O autorze

Kai Masser is Senior Researcher at the German Research Institute for Public Administration (GRIP) and a Lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences, Speyer, Germany.

Linda Mory is a Senior Project Consultant at a global IT company and a Lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences, Speyer, Germany.   

Blurb

This book examines the use of game elements to encourage citizens to participate in political decision-making and the planning of large-scale public sector projects. It argues that success is based on a personal concern with the project and a belief in the influence on political decision making, but also on fun. Without fun, only a very small group of the ‘usual suspects’ will participate, especially in classic policymaking approaches like citizens’ panels which require time and physical attendance. The book also examines the relationship between representative democracy and citizen participation from the perspective of direct democratic instruments in Germany. Readers from different countries with different political systems can decide for themselves, if and how the results from Germany are transferable to their respective conditions. Grounded in theoretical literature and statistical data, the book also makes use of narratives, applying a ‘storytelling’ approach to the case studies.

Kai Masser is Senior Researcher at the German Research Institute for Public Administration (GRIP) and a Lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences, Speyer, Germany.

Linda Mory is a Senior Project Consultant at a global IT company and a Lecturer at the German University of Administrative Sciences, Speyer, Germany.